When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Hello from PA. Ended up with a 1969 Cutlass S in my garage today, very surprised. Neighbor inherited it. Just showed up today, had a local dealer looking it over. Went over and fell in love with it.
350 Rocket, Turbo Hydro auto, buckets. 56K on the odometer. Might be original mileage, found a 1997 dated oil filter flap with the owners manual indicating oil change at 51k in 1997. Current owners family bought it in 2002. Pedal wear minimal. Interior is excellent. Vinyl top is excellent. New $6800 paint job a few years back, looked like they painted the frame as well.
New suspension bushings and alignment, has receipt for $1200 for this work. $1600 in new tires and wheels, she had a picture of it wearing the original rally type wheels, hoping they can be found.
Chrome look's great, very little light pitting. Motor starts and runs well. Brakes feel weak, 4 wheel drums. Were bled at same time as suspension work, 2008.
2018 battery, newer looking dual exhausts. Many receipts for a bunch of small trim pieces.
No sign of putty, trunk looks great. Anything I need to be checking for?
Haven't had a classic since I sold my 1967 Impala SS, very excited. Sorry for poor pictures, limited time to take them. In shock.
Last edited by old greybeard; January 11th, 2021 at 04:53 PM.
Congrats on your new toy! Thank you for posting pictures and sharing the story of how you got it. As you get familiar with it don't hesitate to post any questions that come up. There's a lot of people here who have 1969's.
Nice car! Any idea where the 4-4-2 grille came from?
Previous owner bought them, they do look nice. No sign of the original grille. Finding many invoices for trim and badges.
Vin has her as a Holiday Sport coupe, can’t find much information on the Holiday model, and info would be appreciated. Original color code was 65, Topaz. Have no idea what the repaint is, but it looks great with the black vinyl. Never thought I’d have a vinyl top, but it really works with this body.
Have some nice documentation. Original warranty card mailed to the original owner. It shows vin, is that considered the protect-o-plate for these? Original owner was a woman, kept it 28 years until selling in 1997. As stated have note of oil change in 1997 at 51k. Only 5k put on since. The owner before me bought in 2002 and did the restoration. Original owner’s address is close by, will try to reach out to her.
Finding some issues, drive seat back plastic is broken at a lower screw mount, driver side rear window isn’t aligned correctly, has a gap. Looks like he concentrated on the body first, spark plugs are rusty, radiator was down 1”, looked like sludge on cap, hope it’s not stop leak.
Haven’t had a toy like this since I had kids, laid awake last night thinking about points and condensers, pvc valves, zerk fittings, all those things I haven’t worried about for 35 years.
Going to be fun.
The only thing to do (as with all vintage cars) is to start going over the car noting and correcting the issues you find. Old cars are always a crap shoot on what previous owner did to them or whats lurking behind the curtains ready to fail. The nice thing is you have a solid foundation in which to work with.
Nice score! I'd say what you have is a holiday coupe. The sport coupe is the two-door post model and I don't see that yours has the post. Looks real nice - you got a great deal!
Randy C.
'68 4-4-2 convertible (Best of Class at the 2011 OCA Nationals in Reno NV)
'69 4-4-2 convertible (a nice driver)
Good vehicle. Sounds like it's the sort of low hassle, no fuss car you and the wife seem to want. It's got minor modifications, and we can help get anything wrong sorted out. If those wheels are not your thing, we can set you up with any stock option from a seller here, and you'll probably find a market for those rims here too, as well.
Many repair shops, and most DMV people, are usually 50% wrong. I was offered to register my H/O as any kind of Supreme I wanted, including "Bro Ham." (Brougham.) I am not surprised that they got it wrong on yours. Perhaps you could get some info for us, on the firewall, driver's side, up high, is a riveted on stamped "cowl tag" and putting a picture up here can help us decode some things for you. The Olds version of the protectoplate is credit card manila plastic with a red rocket logo and black ink. You could put a picture of what you have on it as well for more decoding. You can have a lot of fun with a 350 rocket.
Finding some issues, drive seat back plastic is broken at a lower screw mount, driver side rear window isn’t aligned correctly, has a gap. Looks like he concentrated on the body first, spark plugs are rusty, radiator was down 1”, looked like sludge on cap, hope it’s not stop leak.
Haven’t had a toy like this since I had kids, laid awake last night thinking about points and condensers, pvc valves, zerk fittings, all those things I haven’t worried about for 35 years.
Going to be fun.
Coolant level is normal when down an inch or so ...
Glad to see that car go to an enthusiast !
Thinking the odometer must have turned over, 56k on it, here is a picture of the engine compartment, this has been a PA car it's whole life.
I would think if 56k it would be cleaner. AC car, no ac belt.Thoughts on mileage? Dash/dash pad and interior look like a 56k car. As stated the original lady owned it 1969-1997. Sold with 51k on the odometer. Or 151K!
Body is so solid, solid frame, rails, arms, cross members. No sign of twisting, bends or pounds. Magnet sticks everywhere, no putty I can see.
He spent $600 on welding when painted. Light surface rust underneath, I'm a fan of fluid film, any issues covering the ares not recently painted with it?
Looking at his yearone catalog and receipts he replaced padding, carpet, foam, seats, trim, logos, shift lever, many small pieces. Looks new inside.
Don't think he touched the motor, that will be my fun. Had a 1965 Impala as my first car, changed all the smalls on it, radiator, starter, fuel pump, ignition.
Never worked on brakes, carb rebuilds, or had the heads off. Going to be a learning curve.
Here is the plate picture:
Fine canadian car.
...Never worked on brakes, carb rebuilds, or had the heads off. Going to be a learning curve. .
Brakes and carbs are no big deal, really; just pay attention to orientation of parts - take pictures as you go! - and you'll be fine. Oh, and don't bend anything . For the brakes, there are specific positioning/orientation of "front" and "rear" shoes, in both the front and rear brakes. They are mirror images of each other from Left to Right side of vehicle. For the shoes, note that there are two widths. These matter where and how (orientation) they are installed. Same goes for the self-adjustment mechanism. Again, take pics before anything is disassembled and you should be fine. As fall backs you have the PIM (assembly manual) and ClassicOldsmobile Members as information resources. I've never (yet) worked on heads myself, but understand that lash tolerances for the valve train is important to get correct. Best resources are right here on CO!
Wise man once said, never disassemble both drums at the same time so you can see how it goes back together right. 156k cars of that age are TIRED. Look at your seats, and especially the right side of the brake pedal, to tell which time around the mileage drum it is. How worn are the keys? How tight is the steering? Do you have maintenance logs?
Thanks Koda, Good idea about keys, two sets, both look lightly used. But one old worn key was included which doesn't fit anything.
Both pedals look like 56k, as does the entire interior. The seats, carpet look replaced.
Just can't wrap my head around the idea that the original owner only averaged 2k a year.
I agree a 156k car should look worn. But with the solid frame and body it doesn't look like a 15k PA car.
It's the motor compartment that has me thinking older, don't know why.
Picture of pedals attached
I recently bought a 56k mile car and I agree with you on all points. These cars can average two k a year by doing 7k a year for 5 years, then 3k for five years, then sitting for 30, forgotten about.
I inherited a Monte Carlo with 64k on the clock in 02. My grandfather, its owner, passed in 87, and my dad, and later I, would run it when visiting my grandmother. It did maybe 500 miles in 15 years. It now has 88k on the clock, being driven to family in MN once, college for a couple years, car shows in IL and IN, and the 2018 Power Tour, but that's 18 years and 14k miles. If it started as an older gent's car, who didn't have to trouble himself to go too many places, then got sold once he passed, and it became a toy, I could totally see it not racking up many miles. Mine are lucky to get 500 miles a year.
You can get a more complete vehicle info package from 'Vintage Vehicle Services' in Oshawa, but it costs about $150. It is a private info service with direct GM access.
Found the original owner. She bought the car new in 1969, at 52 years old. Single woman, no children. Sold it in 1997 when 80 y/o. Odometer in 1997 was 52,181m, all the maintenance records I have. Unfortunately she died in 2003.
I am the 4th owner.
I am leaning towards this being a 56K original car, she sure fit the bill based on age, to have been a low mileage driver.
Last edited by old greybeard; January 12th, 2021 at 02:20 PM.
Many 2nd cars (especially a classic) are hardly used +-, just Sundays for Ice Cream ...
My 69 Cutlass Vert was redone in 1996 (70 455 & M20) and since then the previous owner only put 2750 miles on it until 2019 when I bought it. I put 2000 more miles on it last year ...
It was definitely kept indoors in low humidity ... minimal surface rust under the hood & frame & interior
My tires were date coded 1996 & looked new, I gave them away ...
My Coolant was gross (Thick) - 3 flushes and now all good (probably original to 1996 ?) Car Never Runs Hot - go figure ...
My oil was so dirty ... 3 oil changes in the 1st 600 miles and now it stays clean ... I wonder if they ever changed it ? vs just adding a quart every 500 miles ... motor runs smooth & quiet - I lucked out
Seems you got a great deal on nice looking original car car !
Not many of those to be found !
January 9th, 2021, 05:14 PM
. For the brakes, there are specific positioning/orientation of "front" and "rear" shoes, in both the front and rear brakes. They are mirror images of each other from Left to Right side of vehicle. For the shoes, note that there are two widths. These matter where and how (orientation) they are installed. Same goes for the self-adjustment mechanism. Again, take pics before anything is disassembled and you should be fine. As fall backs you have the PIM (assembly manual) and ClassicOldsmobile Members as information resources. I've never (yet) worked on heads myself, but understand that lash tolerances for the valve train is important to get correct. Best resources are right here on CO!
